4 Lesser-Known Conferences That Deserve Your Attention in 2013

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By Kelsey Meyer

If you’re an entrepreneur who understands the importance of networking, chances are you’ve attended quite a few conferences in the last few years. The problem is that we only knew about the big ones: Everyone’s heard of SXSW, TechCrunch Disrupt, and the Inc. 500. While these conferences are amazing networking opportunities and can be extremely useful, sometimes it’s the conferences off the beaten path that provide the most value. I’ve compiled a list of four of the lesser-known conferences that entrepreneurs need to know about.

Focus: CEO Space Retreats are focused on collaborative entrepreneurship. The purpose of attending CEO Space Retreat is to accomplish real business results, not just once you leave the conference, but at the actual event.

What Makes It Unique: CEO Space Retreats have reinvented the tradeshow. In their model, there are no booths or barriers between presenters and attendees. Everyone sits at meal tables to discuss ideas and share expertise. You can also be assured you won’t experience the scammy business card traders you avoid at other conferences — CEO Space vets the applications of people who wish to attend, and they turn down those they don’t believe will add value to the event.

Standout Speakers: CEO Space Retreats prefer the term “faculty” to “speakers” since they interact with the attendees, instead of speaking and then leaving. A couple standout faculty members include Mark Victor Hansen, the co-creator of “The Chicken Soup for the Soul” series, and Les Brown, a leading motivational speaker.

Focus: The Agents of Change Conference is geared toward entrepreneurs in digital marketing who are looking for new ways to reach their customers — and to uncover industry trends.

What Makes It Unique: First off, it’s in Maine, which is definitely off the beaten path for the average conference goer. And for those who don’t want to business expense a trip to Maine (I don’t know who wouldn’t want to!), they offer virtual tickets so you can stream the speakers into your office or living room.

Standout Speakers: The speakers for 2013 haven’t been announced yet, but in 2012, Chris Brogan and Amy Porterfield led the charge of influential experts in the digital marketing field.

Focus: MozCon is focused solely on inbound marketing. If you’re interested in SEO, social media, analytics, or conversion rate optimization, MozCon will be your Candy Land.

What Makes It Unique: Erica McGillivray describes MozCon as “A hug from us [SEOmoz] to our community.” If you’re not interested in hugs, you might be attracted by the focus on actionable takeaways, the ice cream socials, or the fact that even in a primarily male-dominated industry, they have a 50/50 split of male-to-female speakers.

Standout Speakers: There might be too many amazing participants to name, but Dharmesh Shah from HubSpot and Avinash Kaushik of Google will likely be two of the speakers drawing the most attention.

Focus: The Westchester Digital Summit is focused on all areas of digital marketing. It’s geared toward small and large businesses alike.

What Makes It Unique: Organizer Chris Dessi told me that he wants “people to leave feeling like they got hit over the head with a two-by-four of knowledge.” Chris explained how inspired he was after hearing Gary Vaynerchuk speak for the first time, and he wants everyone at his conference to develop the same enthusiasm. It’s also unique in that it’s about 20 minutes outside of the city; it’s destined to bring an influx of national big hitters in the digital space into the local community of Westchester. In addition to experiencing a city you might not normally visit, attendees can expect to attend amazing breakout sessions, receive free massages, and network with hundreds of people in the open booth area.

Standout Speakers: Gary Vaynerchuk is the keynote speaker (which seems appropriate for the getting-hit-over-the-head-with-knowledge goal). Other speakers include David Guy, CEO of Loud Door, and Avi Savar, Founding Partner of Big Fuel.

Have you attended one of these conferences? Do you have tips for others attending this year? Did I leave your favorite conference off the shortlist? Let me know in the comments! Hopefully, I’ll get to meet you at a conference soon.

Kelsey Meyer is President and Co-Founder of DTA, a leading provider of expert content to the world’s leading publications.